Indian Nations Law Update - November/December 2022

SELECTED COURT DECISIONS

In NUMA Corporation v. Diven, Not Reported in Fed. Rptr. 2022 WL 17102361 (9th Cir. 2022), the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed its 2004 decision in Krystal Energy Co. v. Navajo Nation, 357 F.3d 1055, 1056 (9th Cir. 2004): "Section 106(a) of the Bankruptcy Code abrogates the sovereign immunity of a 'governmental unit' with respect to, as relevant here, the Code's automatic stay provision. 11 U.S.C. § 106(a). The statute's definition of 'governmental unit' includes any 'foreign or domestic government.' 11 U.S.C. § 101(27). In Krystal Energy, we held squarely that the definition of 'governmental unit' includes tribes and that section 106(a) of the Bankruptcy Code unequivocally abrogates tribal sovereign immunity. ... Krystal Energy controls here. Because Congress abrogated tribal sovereign immunity with respect to the automatic stay provision, the Tribe cannot assert sovereign immunity to avoid sanctions for violation of the automatic stay."